


Running errands

by Bitterblue



Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 4
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-24
Updated: 2015-11-24
Packaged: 2018-05-03 03:40:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,250
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5275109
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bitterblue/pseuds/Bitterblue
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Blue has to run errands for the Railroad alone.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Running errands

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt from deerdeer.tumblr.com: Pipers got some paper to write and shes really stressed and SS comes back to Publik all battered and bleeding and Piper snaps and scolds but it ends up being amazing fluff????

"The paper's not going to write itself, Blue. I don't mind if you run errands for the Railroad without me."

She'd said it with an apologetic smile, like she didn't want to let you down, so you'd done your best to pretend you weren't a little disappointed to leave Piper in Diamond City. You've been pretending that Piper isn't the best thing about surviving the war for a while now, because she  _is_ and you don't want to mess up a good friendship by coming off as...you're not sure what, precisely. Just that you don't want to mess it up, and as much as Piper values honesty you kind of think confessing some mixed-up more-than-friend feelings might not be quite the sort of honesty she wants.

You're kicking yourself now, of course, because you should have at least asked Deacon or Glory if they could come along as backup instead of sulking. A second pair of hands probably would have given you someone to talk to besides yourself. You might have been a little less distracted with your own thoughts about missing Piper's compliments on your lock picking skills. A second pair of steady hands also  _probably_ would mean you wouldn't have been shot in the shoulder. The wound is not life-threatening, but it's deeply uncomfortable, so as soon as the safehouse is clear you start to head back to the Railroad HQ.

Tramping through brambles and across broken pavement, you miss her companionable silences and long-winded stories. You miss hearing the same story about the time Nat tried to make breakfast for them, a few months after their dad had died, and made " _the_ most disgusting pancakes I have ever...I don't think they were edible, but I ate them, Blue, because she made them, and it was only after that I found out she'd made them with mutfruit that had probably gone off already. We were sick for  _days_. Good times." You miss the way she laughs at her own jokes.

After the second mirelurk colony you accidentally upset and have to exterminate and a sprint around a lake to escape from a deathclaw you probably could've taken down together, you vow never to go anywhere without  _someone_ again. Preferably Piper. You're covered in scrapes and your shoulder's started to bleed again, a slow, spreading damp with a smell you know will attract things you'd prefer not to attract after dark.

The Railroad headquarters are dank and welcome when you get there, not too much later. Carrington is as brusque as ever, but he extracts the bullet and makes sure your shoulder is securely wrapped. Desdemona gives you new instructions for another errand, and you chat with Deacon and Tom briefly before making your excuses and slipping out.

It's getting dark, and you'd like to be home.

You feel a bit silly on the walk to Diamond City for thinking of it as home, but there's no place else in the wasteland that you think better qualifies these days. Your home in Sanctuary disappeared two centuries ago, and the ruins of the life you might have had just make you sad. Diamond City may not be a  _city_ quite the way you think of cities, but it's bustling. And there's Piper. (A sappy part of you insists you could probably be  _home_ with Piper anywhere, but you resolutely tamp that feeling right back down.)

You pass the guard with a ghost of a smile and a nod, and head straight toward the Publick Occurrences building. For a moment, you consider just walking inside, but you're not sure if Piper's even home, so you knock.

The door opens a crack, and a familiar brown eye squints at you before the door's thrown wide and Piper grins. "Blue! You made it back."

You're in the middle of a, "Yeah," when she hugs you, brief and tight. You grunt as she jostles your shoulder and touches one of the larger scrapes. Piper steps back, eyes widening and a frown pulling at her mouth.

"Not quite in one piece, I see. Geez, Blue, what  _happened_? Come inside." She takes your hands and tugs you in, still frowning. You shrug off your coat and the leather armour you had decided it was prudent to wear on the walk from the Railroad to here, wincing as you move your shoulder. "Fuck...are you okay? You're pretty beat up."

"I'm okay now. I'm home."  _Oops_. Didn't mean to let that slip. But Piper's concerned frown twists just the tiniest bit into something more wry and affectionate, and maybe it's not the worst thing you've ever said. You cough, and then say, "I got caught by surprise by a couple of raiders, got shot in the shoulder."

"You could've been more careful, Blue. Some of us like having you around and not dead." She sounds a little angry, a little hurt.

"I'm fine. I promise. Carrington patched me up already. It'll just take a little while to properly heal." Piper shifts her weight to her back foot, expression unreadable, and then sighs and runs her hand through her hair, tucking a stray strand behind one ear.

She shrugs, looking anywhere but at you, and finally tells the wall just over your shoulder, "Look, I just...you're a good person to have around, Blue. I don't like the thought of you getting killed by some raider somewhere." There's a creakiness to her voice that you've never heard before. You're not sure quite how to respond, but the silence that stretches between you isn't uncomfortable. After a minute, she sighs again and turns away from you, walking into her kitchen. She sets a pot of water on to boil, leaning against the tiny table to watch it heat. "You want a mug of something warm?"

You take it for the peace offering it is, after her inexplicable irritation with you getting hurt, and smile a little. "Sure. How'd the paper go while I was gone?"

Piper laughs, a little hollowly, and shrugs. "It...did not. Go. Much. I had a pretty hard time concentrating on writing, knowing you were out there without me and might...I mean, look, I'm glad you didn't die. But I was worried." She looks up from the pot and meets your eyes. "Turns out I was right, so there's sweet vindication on my side, but then that's all gross because I was right that you got  _hurt_  without me and I was arguing with myself, so have I even really won anything?" She laughs again, softer and truer this time. "I'd greatly prefer you alive. You're a living relic."

"It wasn't as much fun without you," you admit, moving a little closer to her.

She smiles, a genuine smile, eyes crinkling at the corners. "I bet. You need a constant companion to compliment your breaking and entering skills  _and_ to cover you so you don't wind up shot."

"I do. Yeah. You volunteering?" It comes out more teasing than you think you'd meant it to, but Piper's grin doesn't diminish at all as she pushes herself off the table and steps closer to you. You could reach out and touch her, if you wanted. You do want. You keep your hand at your side, though, unsure. Piper's the one to close the last distance, taking your hand on your uninjured arm and squeezing it as she threads your fingers together. Her smile's radiant.

"Whatever you want, Blue. I'm along for the ride."


End file.
